Pure Nico Di Angelo Appreciation
by BornInTartarus
Summary: The Heroes of Olympus gather to discuss the casualties of the latest war. They meet a lost spirit, and witness a side of Nico that they rarely got to see.


I own nothing but the plot. oh well.

They were all sitting in the big house, sipping juice and eating cookies. A minute later, the Stolls returned from the fridge with a box of crackers and cheese wiz. Finally, they all fell silent. Chiron spoke up.

"As you all know, we gathered here to discuss any causalities of the latest war. We need to take up plans to insure that we return everything to normal". The others nodded. He turned to Grover.

"Grover, how many satyrs and dryads do we have left?"

"About 40", Grover said, through a mouthful of tin can. The centaur nodded. "Is it possible to have them all deployed right now?"

"Grover readjusted his Rasta cap thoughtfully. He swallowed the last of his tin can. "As soon as we tally up the damage done to the forest, we can start sending in satyrs to gather up demigods."

"Perfect", Chiron said, turning to Will. "How about the injured?"

Will shook his head. "It's not good. We're running out of space in the infirmary, and our supplies our running out too. We hardly have enough ambrosia and nectar, and we'll need more bandages soon."

Jason sat up from his chair. "It's okay, I can contact Reyna. I'm sure that Camp Jupiter will have more than enough."

Will smiled gratefully. Chiron turned to Leo and Annabeth. "How is the rebuilding going?"

The two demigods exchanged glances. Leo spoke up. "Most of the cabins were really damaged. We got a couple rebuilt, though. What we need is more hands. The Athena cabin is rebuilding the Pavilion and amphitheater right now. I had a dream with my dad a couple days ago, and he blessed us with extra building materials." The son of Hephaestus rubbed his face tiredly. "Like I said, all we need is a couple extra set of hands to help."

Nico glanced at him. "I could call in some dead workers if you want."

Leo stared at him. "You can?"

Nico shrugged. "Sure. They're always happy to have a chance to get out of The Fields Of Asphodel. It gives them something to do."

Leo grinned. "I'm all for it, man. How soon can you get them?"

"I can make a stop to the underworld later."

Chiron glanced at him. "About that Nico, what about the burial rites for the dead?"

"I don't know yet. I sent a lost spirit to check a while ago. She should be here soon."

Right on cue, the lights flickered and dimmed. The temperature dropped a few degrees. The wispy form of a young girl floated into the room. Her hair fell down in ringlets that framed her sweet face. Her eyes were soft and round. She only looked about six or seven years old, but she had a solemn aura that chilled the entire group.

She took a step forward to Nico, who smiled at her. But then something else caught her attention.

She took a step towards the table instead. She looked like she was suddenly in a trance. She stared at the plate of cookies with intense longing and desire. She raised her hand to touch one, but her hand went right through it. Silent tears snaked their way down her cheeks.

Nico noticed her reaction to the food. He sighed with a pained look on his face. He reached out to her, but she faded even more when she got close to living skin. She cried harder.

Nico couldn't stand to see this young girl in such anguish. He could tell the others were uncomfortable as well. Most of them had pushed their food away, and the even Stolls put down their Cheese Wiz.

He made a decision. He turned to the girl with his arms spread wide.

"Look, I know the food is amazing and you haven't had any since you died. You were one of the victims of the Battle of Troy, right?"

The girl nodded sadly, still glancing backwards to look at the cookies. "Yes. I was one of the many families that perished from lack of food and water. I starved to death along with my mother and siblings. Then we were all sent to The Fields of Asphodel."

There was a deep hush that had fallen over the group. Then Annabeth recovered her voice. "But if you went to The Fields of Asphodel, how did you keep your memory?"

The girl smiled sadly and gestured to Nico. "Nico took me to Lord Hades and convinced him that I could be useful. I've been gathering what information I can these past weeks."

Her attention turned back to the food. She muttered to herself and then turned to the others. "Oh, son of Hades. You all have no idea. Value your lives. They never last forever. Take the time and remember." She turned back to the cookies again. "You will miss it dearly." She whispered sadly, tears beginning to fall again.

Nico sighed. He pushed away the plate of crackers nearest to him. "How about this. I won't eat either. In fact, how about I turn into one of you? I think we might be able to talk better that way."

The girl stared at him. He spread his arms, and the shadows in the Big House collected together and surrounded him. When they swirled back to their original positions, Nico was left looking….

Dead.

His messy black hair had turned white. His skin wasn't pale anymore, it was pure white. He turned wispy at the edges.

He beckoned to the little girl, who sat on his lap. He smiled at her and began running his ghostly hands through her hair, braiding it. When he was finished, the girl got up and looked at him in adoration. He smiled.

"Now, do you have my information?"

The girl jumped up and down and nodded her head happily.

"Most of the dead have already been judged. All got Elysium, I think."

Nico whispered something in her ear and she giggled. Then her expression turned serious. She whispered something back, and Nico raised his head. He glanced back at the rest of the group.

"Does anyone have a lollipop?"

Up till that moment, everyone had just watched the pair of them in a daze. Nico had a side of passion towards the dead that they so rarely got to see.

Everyone checked their pockets frantically, until Percy found a blue lollipop in one of his. He handed it silently to Nico, who took it gratefully. He muttered a couple chants under his breath, until the candy became white and wispy as well.

He handed it to the girl, who held it like it was glass. She looked at in wonder. Carefully, she tucked it away in the folds of her dress, and then launched herself at Nico, tackling him in a hug.

"Whoa! Easy!" The two of them tumbled together, landing in a heap at the floor laughing and giggling.

Nico picked her up. "I think it's time you return to the underworld."

The girl nodded and planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Thank you son of Hades."

She dissolved into mist. The lights came back on, and the temperature returned to normal. Nico snapped his fingers and his form was also returned to normal.

The others gaped. He folded his arms contently.

"So, on with the meeting?"


End file.
